Waltz no2
by Aethra Caelis
Summary: Inspired by 2nd Season's Ep15, and Mileina's, "...you can't fall in love with me," -- some fluff to warm the otherwise cold winter. Hope y'all like!


_Disclaimer: Gundam 00 characters and related indicia © Sunrise, Bandai Entertainment._

Author's Notes : a little fluff inspired by the little Tieria~ Mileina moment in Second Season's Episode 15. ^_^ Title was taken from the piece I was listening to at the time of writing this -- Dimitri Shostakovich's "Waltz #2".

**Waltz #2**  
_**a Gundam00 fanfic by Cielo**_

It had been a long day for the Haro units, Ian, Saji, and most specially, Mileina. Ptolemy urgently needed to get fixed and get its weapons back on line. In addition to the already daunting task, not one, but TWO Gundam units were in need of substantial repairs. The engineers had not had any rest for the past 36 hours (and counting.) Mileina had urged her father to rest as he just got out of medical care, while the older man chided his daughter about growing children needing enough sleep. To Saji's dismay (or relief), both would have none of it.

Once their work on the mobile suits were done, and after making sure the Haro units can manage on their own, the exhausted Saji and Mileina could no longer help but crumble down in the hangar, falling straight to sleep...

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

_2309 -- Lagrange 3_

"Papa! You're going too fast!"

"But that's how this dance is!"

Winds and strings, mingled with laughter and giggles filled the recreation area of Lagrange 3. A middle-aged man with tousled black hair held a young girl with curled brown hair in the familiar form of a waltz. A blond woman looked on, swaying in time to the music, "You're doing great, Mileina!"

"But I never thought it'd be this hard..." Mileina playfully pouted her lips. Though she had improved from stepping on her father's toes, her footwork was still jerky, as if she was chasing after her partner's steps.

Feldt and Lasse were sitting on a couch nearby -- the pink-haired girl with her laptop unit, pausing from reviewing her notes, and the scarred man leaning back, amused, watching the odd father-daughter tandem.

The recreation room's door hissed open as Tieria stepped in. He blinked several times as he took in the scene in front of him -- Ian slightly hunched over Mileina, while the latter had her arms awkwardly raised -- one on her father's shoulder, and the other one held by his hand. They also seemed to be repelling each other, subconsciously avoiding contact around the hips and waist, forming an awkward cage. He immediately recognized the music as a waltz.

"Ian Vashty – you are unfit to be a waltz instructor."

The "dancers" stopped as Ian stood to his full height and looked at the Meister straight in the face. The music played on as both men measured each other up, making the others in the room feel a little uneasy.

A few moments later, Ian blinked and the corner of Tieria's mouth twitched. Shortly, Ian snorted and fell laughing, while the purple-haired man in front of him gave in to a smug, victorious smile. Lasse laughed along as well, "It's been a while since I heard that phrase!" Feldt and Linda gently chuckled, while Mileina puffed her cheeks like chipmunk as the joke -- whatever it was -- flew over her head.

"Both of your postures are off," Tieria stated matter-of-factly. He was about to go on a tirade about the waltz being a dance of romance, he decided against it. He stepped closer and held out his hand in front of Mileina, "Would you mind if I borrow her for a dance?"

Ian gallantly stepped away, as Tieria turned his attention to the younger Vashty, "May I have this dance?"

Mileina blinked her big violet eyes as she took his hand and gladly obliged. Tieria took his position -- hand a little above her waist, extending the other with his partner's to the side, while Mileina placed her other hand on his shoulder. Tieria scrutinized her posture –- while he stood straight as the dance would command, Mileina still stuck her bottom out, seemingly avoiding direct body contact.

"Stand up straight, Mileina," with a coax of his arm on her back, she snapped to attention. "Come closer and relax." Her face grew hot as she felt the rise in temperature with their bodies standing as close as the dance required. His voice was low and gentle and sent Mileina's pink-colored daydreams into overdrive as she stared into the black zipper of the violet Celestial Being uniform. She mentally shook her head and took on a confident stance –- never mind that her heart threatened to leap out of her chest -- she'll show her partner and everyone in the room that she's up to the task.

"Ready?"

"_Hai-desu_!"

Tieria nodded, "Alright then –- follow my lead." Catching the beat, Tieria started his steps, and guided Mileina along.

Linda looked on, amused, "_Anata_, it would seem that she's more at ease _ne_?" Ian pensively rubbed his chin and nodded his agreement.

Mileina was mentally counting and watching her steps. "Don't look at your feet." She suddenly snapped her head up at the firm but kind command and felt her breath catch as her eyes met his burgundy gaze. She shifted her eyes to a spot above his shoulder, "Wh-where did you learn to dance like, this, Erde-san?" She felt a little surprised at her stammer, and was hoping very hard that the blush burning her cheeks went unnoticed.

"If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

"_Eeeeehh?!_"

"Just kidding," Tieria apparently thought his joke was amusing. Mileina looked to the other members for reassurance and made a mental note to learn to detect when this Meister cracked jokes.

"Mileina," his calling her attention once more broke the tension, "why did you suddenly want to learn to dance the waltz?"

"My mama and papa!" her eyes seemed to sparkle in fond memory, "I remember seeing them dance like this during a party -- it was so beautiful!" Her face then took on the gleeful expression he'd come to know well, "And I was thinking, I might as well learn it so I can dance with my Prince someday!"

Tieria smiled at this -- quite uncharacteristic from what Mileina has seen from him so far, "Thank you." Mileina cocked her head to the side, wondering at why he'd be thanking her. "I'm glad you're here."

Trademark corkscrew curls bobbed as she grinned sheepishly, "Just remember you can't fall in love with me."

She was met by a bemused look, "Why do you say that?"

Cheeks puffing up and red, "Y-you just CAN'T, ok?"

_~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~_

Blaring alarms and Feldt's urgent call over the intercoms almost startled Mileina. She opened her eyes, and she saw a figure silhouetted against the dim lights of the hangar. Before she could make out who it was exactly -- Marie? Feldt? Her Papa? -- it had ran off.

Shaking sleep out of her head, she noticed the warm pink blanket that had been draped over her. She folded it and tucked it under her arm. As she picked herself up and made her way to the Bridge, she briefly wondered about that dream -- the memory of a moment which took place almost three years ago. She mentally laughed at herself at what ever came over her to blurt that out to Tieria. Maybe because she was acutely aware of the war they were facing -- that death loomed around every corner; maybe because Tieria Erde did not match to how she imagined her "Prince," and that she could not fathom the idea of falling for Seravee's Meister.

But looking back, she thought, for that split second, that one moment, she had felt that "someday" had already taken place.

--- END (?) ---

Notes :

It's not as romantic as you think – it's more like Mileina puppy-love and, come on! Tieria's gorgeous when he wants to be! And yes, dance with Daddy's quite awkward at times, and more often than not, it's more enticing to dance with someone who's not our parent (specially when we're tweens.) XD

End's with a question mark, as I still have other ideas for these two, still involving a waltz. Hopefully I'll get the time and inspiration to actually write them. ^^;

Thank you for reading!


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